Marie is one of our newer volunteers and she has been with us for about three months now. She does four or five calls a week on average, which she fits in around her family and home life.
Recently Marie lost one of her best friends and asked if she could take a break from making the calls. When we rang to check in and make sure Marie was doing ok, she said how grateful she was that we had bothered to keep in touch and asked if it would be possible for her to resume making the calls and to do extras because she felt that she needed to keep herself busy and fully occupied so she wasn’t sat dwelling on things. During the last few weeks, she has done up to ten calls a week. She has said the calls are keeping her in a good place with her mental health as she is keeping busy focusing on others. Speaking to such a wide range of people has made her feel less isolated in her grief.
As a result of this we are now aware of how much the befriending calls help not just the participants but the volunteers making the calls as they have a raised sense of self belief and achievement in helping others. She feels like she can always call Ffion or Nicola for a chat if things get too much for her. Marie has said RotherFed does outstanding work and she is proud to volunteer with us.